


Experiments

by mariuspunmercy



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: That's it, happy freaking birthday varian, rocks, the word damn is used, yeah that's about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 09:05:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18232802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspunmercy/pseuds/mariuspunmercy
Summary: Rapunzel has a theory that needs to be tested. But first, she needs Varian's trust.





	Experiments

“Varian,” Rapunzel spoke. “I have something that I'd like to share with you, if that's okay.”

Varian shrugged. He didn't really feel like talking to the princess, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious. He looked up from the spot on the prison floor that he was staring at, and instead focused on the princess.

“Varian,” Rapunzel said firmer. “I said that I want to share something with you. But, I need to know that it's okay with you. I can leave, if you want. It would probably be better. No one really knows that I'm down here. My mom would kill me if she found out I came by myself. You know what? On that thought, I should just go back up. Or at least go get Cass…”

“I'll listen,” Varian grumbled. “You probably have stuff you want to say about me, but you can't exactly call me a liar. And I would be lying if I said you weren't peaking my interest right now.” That's the one thing the princess can't accuse him of.

“Well, you lied to me and forced me to commit treason, actually,” Rapunzel sat down on the dirty floor and causally leaned her head against the bars of his cell. It was as if she didn't care that he's a dangerous individual who tried to kill her and her mother.

“False,” Varian smirked. “I just left out the part where I would betray you and take the entire flower when I told you about my plan.”

“A lie of omission is still a lie,” Rapunzel rolled his eyes. “Okay, quit it. I'm done playing this little game of you trying to one up or prove I'm wrong-”

“That's where you're wrong, Princess,” Varian walked to the bars so he was face to face with his least favorite person. He sat in front of her and sneered. “See, I'm not trying to make you look bad or anything. You did that all on your own. No, I just want you to admit you failed me and Old Corona. They all fled because _you_ weren't a good enough queen.”

“Well, if that's what you think,” Rapunzel shrugged. “I don't really feel like arguing with you. If all you're gonna do is insult me when I'm trying to provide some kind of information then beats me. I'd rather go back to the castle and just let Cass in on this secret. Not even she knows. I don't know why I thought to share this with you first. I mean, I didn't even tell Eugenie yet. Guess I'll go tell them now and-”

“Wait,” Varian held out a hand. “I _do_ want to know. Curiosity got the best of me and…” He trailed off when he saw a pile of rocks the princess had made while she waited for Varian to chill out. “What'd you make there?”

She actually seemed surprised that he took interest in something she did. She gestured to the rock pile. “Well, I didn't have anything specific in mind. I was kind of just… stacking rocks.. It gets very boring having to listen to someone say the same insults over and over again. As if I don't hear them often.”

“That's fascinating.” It's very much a stupid thing to be so amazed by. But hey, when you've been spending every bit of down time doing nothing but playing with a raccoon in a cell, it's pretty easy to find amusement in the little things. “The way they're all stacked and stay balanced while all being different shapes and sizes… Wow.”

“You're interested in rocks?” Rapunzel asked.

Varian chuckled. Of course someone like her who didn't have to worry about the things he does is confused in his fixation on a pile of rocks. “If you didn't know already, Princess, rocks have been a special subject of mine.”

Rapunzel became silent before she slid two rocks through the bars. She smiled at him and started gesturing to them. “If they're really that intriguing, then I'll let you play with a couple-”

“Please don't call it ‘play’,” Varian expressed his dislike over the term. “I'd much prefer the word ‘experiment'. Play just makes me sound like I'm six years old.”

“Let yourself be a kid, Varian,” Rapunzel chided. “Anyways, I'll let you _experiment_ with the rocks and how they stack. But that's it. Am I understood?”

Varian was way too interested in the rocks and his beginning experiment about how to make them stack to even notice that the princess was talking. He only started paying attention when she coughed rather loudly.

“Let me repeat myself,” Rapunzel cleared her throat. “If I find out that you've escaped and/or you're doing something else with these rocks that isn't figuring out how they stack, then I will personally hunt you down and make sure you get back in here. And you won't have a damn rock in sight. Am I understood?”

He nodded. He was very pleasantly surprised when the rest of the rock pile was slid through the bars. He looked up at the princess with wide eyes and a huge smile. He usually did a good job at hiding his emotions in front of the princess, but he was so excited to finally have something to work on that he didn't care.

Rapunzel laughed, happy to see that Varian was allowing himself to feel actual emotions again. He doesn't do that. He's like that dorky kid they found in the lair on the first day. Not many cares and just so _happy._ It had been a while since she's seen him genuinely smiling. 

Yeah, he's been smug, smiling so wide his face looked like a banana and laughed at a couple of his own jokes. But none of those were real. They were his own way of getting under her skin. She'd be lying if Rapunzel said he didn't make her uneasy when he would smile when her hair was being drilled into the amber.

This.

This was real and genuine. He clapped and laid down on his side to get the best effects for everything. He was allowing himself to actually be a fifteen year old again. This was step one of their trust reforming. Maybe, by being a kid again, he could help her with a theory she had about the moonstone.

Rapunzel had come down to see if maybe she could get Varian vulnerable around her again. It wasn't exactly her plan to use the rocks, but she did indeed get through (somewhat) to him. That's what mattered for now: progress.

It seems that Rapunzel's little experiment had some work to do before her hypothesis could fully be true, but for now, it seems to be working.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this very distracted idk why
> 
> I actually made a time lapse of me writing this and I'm so stupid aha you can see why this took forever. Should I include a link?? 
> 
> Anyways, hope you like this. April 14 gonna kill me 
> 
> Follow my Tumblr - varianneedsabaymaxhug
> 
> :)


End file.
